Who benefits most from the NBA’s restart plan?

The happiest place on earth is about to get even happier. The NBA is expected to resume its 2019-20 season in July at Disney World’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida. The spacious 220-acre complex will play host to up to 22 teams who will compete for a shot at the 2020 NBA Championship.

While we await more details, let’s examine which players, teams, and coaches could benefit most from the league’s long-awaited return.

Fringe playoff contenders

The NBA’s 22-team proposal will include the six teams that are currently within six games of the final playoff spot in both conferences. That means that middling clubs like the New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and Washington Wizards still have a shot of winning a championship.

The Blazers, in particular, bear watching. Portland is just a year removed from reaching the Western Conference Finals and could benefit greatly from the return of Jusuf Nurkic, who has been missing in action since March 25, 2019 when he broke his left leg in a win over the Brooklyn Nets. The Bosnian big man is a walking double-double whose presence would result in plenty of free looks for Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Speaking of Lillard…

Damian Lillard

The five-time All-Star was adamantly opposed to an earlier proposal that would have prevented the Blazers from qualifying for the postseason."Big Game Dame" now has a chance to shine in the postseason, where he’s averaged close to 25 points per game over the course of his brilliant career. Can you say "Dame time"? We knew you could.

LeBron James

The Last Dance did more than just entertain basketball-starved fans during the pandemic. It also convinced a majority of them that Michael Jordan is superior to LeBron James. According to a poll conducted by ESPN, a staggering 73% of respondents identified MJ as the better overall player.

LeBron will never be able to equal Jordan’s flawless 6-0 record in the NBA Finals, but he could pull off an unbelievable feat of his own this summer by leading his third franchise to a title. That would surely pull him closer to his boyhood idol and add to his status as the game’s true GOAT.

Gregg Popovich

2019-20 was shaping up to be a lost season for the Spurs, who stumbled out of the gates with a 5-11 record and appeared destined to miss the playoffs for the first time in 23 years. San Antonio still won’t scare any of the top contenders, but the possibility of a play-in format means that Gregg Popovich’s improbable playoff streak may still be safe.

NBA Fans

You can only watch grainy footage of the 2001 NBA Finals on YouTube so many times before you want to drive your head through a wall. The resumption of the 2019-20 season will give fans fresh basketball games to watch – and bet on - for the first time in four months. Old footage is fine in times of international crisis, but nothing beats the thrill of live action and the air of unpredictability that comes with it.

Disney

Few corporations have escaped the pandemic unscathed, and Disney is no exception. The entertainment giant reportedly lost $1.4 billion in revenue last quarter following the immediate closure of its theme parks, cruises, and retail outlets. The NBA won’t singlehandedly put Disney back in the black, but it will bring the corporation the kind of PR money simply can’t buy.

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